Donald Trump labeled 'school bully' for mocking Nikki Haley's birth name

BEDFORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his mockery of rival presidential candidate Nikki Haley's birth name, asserting that the idea simply "came to him," as reported by The Hill.

In an interview with the Republican frontrunner that aired on Sunday, January 21, Fox News' Bret Baier asked why he ridiculed Haley's birth name on his social media platform by repeatedly calling her "Nimbra."

Trump defended himself, saying, "I do that with a lot of people, like Hutchinson. I mean, he was polling at zero for about one year, and I called him rather than Asa; I called him Ada Hutchinson, and it just felt good to me."

"And with her, it's just something that came. It's a little bit of a takeoff on her name. You know, her name, wherever she may come from," he added.

As reported by the Associated Press, the ex-president, in his Truth Social post on January 19, repeatedly misspelled the Former South Carolina Governor's name as "Nimbra." Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, to Indian immigrant parents as Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. 

Choosing to be known by her middle name, "Nikki," she adopted the surname Haley following her marriage to Michael Haley in 1996.

In response to the insults, the former UN ambassador said Trump resorted to the nickname because he "feels insecure" and "threatened" by her gaining ground ahead of the New Hampshire primary on January 23.

Donald Trump brags about making nicknames

Speaking to Baier, Trump boasted about his nickname-making skills.

"Some people say I'm very good at that, but, uh, I can't get into too many because many of those people that I named like that are Republicans, and we don't want to bring that up, but, uh, no, it's just, uh, it's a takeoff," the White House hopeful stated.

He added that resorting to giving nicknames to rivals is a "very effective tool," and he is having fun with it.

With the New Hampshire primary on the doorstep, the Republican presidential race has come down into a two-person race after Ron DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump.

Following the landslide victory in the Iowa caucus, the former President is hoping to repeat the same in the Granite state; however, Haley is offering tight competition. Furthermore, NH Gov Chris Sununu's endorsement has added momentum to her voter support in the state.

Internet reacts to Trump's behavior

Calling out Trump's bullying, netizens slammed him, saying the skill was not suitable for a presidential candidate.

One user wrote, "Schoolyard bully calling everyone names. Never changes."

Another user remarked, "Bragging about his skill level of being the school bully. Wow, how proud we should be as a nation to have this gem as the leading presidential candidate for one of our political parties."

"He's good at it? So is my first grade grandson," read a third reaction.

A fourth user added, "He is just down right nasty!!"

"Ah yes. A skill all presidents should have: making up insulting nick names for people," one user said.

Another user noted, "If someone talked this way at work about another co-worker, that someone would be fired."

"Why would the media ever allow him to normalize making up mocking names for people and using them in a deprecating manner? It never occurs to him or the journalist that this trait is nothing to be proud of," read one response.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.